A moment of reflection
by Ky03elk
Summary: "I'm happy." And in that moment, with those words, she has managed to capture all that he could not. A Season Five snippet in time!


Thank you to Ilovetoread09 for reading and Honeyandvodka for everything, including the cover art (but, especially for holding my hand through the whole process)

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And to all those that write, you inspired me to do the same!

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He rounds the corner on his way into the bathroom, and the reason, the purpose of what he was meaning to do, leaves his brain. It's as if the thoughts were nothing more than butterflies, scattering in the wind.

Stilling his movements, he observes her leaning over the counter, peering into the mirror, something having caught her attention. He watches as she attempts to work out what is wrong, sees the crease in her forehead deepening, an indication that in her mind at least, not all is right with the world.

Staring hard he internally tries to unlock the puzzle that seems to be troubling her. His eyes begin to drift, roaming the long length of her body, and he looks for clues as to the reason her thoughts appear troubled.

At last he lingers on the tips of her toes, and her throat clears, causing his eyes to snap up and lock with hers.

"You okay there?"

The teasing tone in her voice bleeds through the heat in her eyes, and his own eyes crinkle as a smirk streaks across his lips.

"Yeah, I'm good."

His head tilts slightly as his lips settle back into a slight smile, and his eyes question.

"Are you?"

A soft _mmmmm _escapes her lips and he wonders for a moment if she had meant it to be free; one of those moments where Beckett battles with Kate.

Moving forward, his hand skims the smooth muscles of her back as he does his best to coax the former out.

"Do I look different to you?"

Her query comes out of the blue, and his mind is forced from where it had disappeared to, adrift in the way his fingers can glide over her.

Yet, as he makes it back to the moment they are sharing, he sees her eyes again searching for something in the mirror, something he can not see.

"Ummm."

His mind flickers through the last few hours and days, attempting to grasp what could cause this line of questioning.

But as he comes full circle, he is still without answers, and thus makes the decision to place it back on her.

"Different how?"

A slight shrug of her left shoulder and a head tilt in the same direction is apparently all the answer he is going to get.

Taking the offensive, he moves his hands, fingers lightly tracing up her neck as they weave through hair that has become so long and light.

"Your hair is different."

He chuckles as the last five years of hair styles parade quickly through his thoughts, short and hard edges now replaced by soft curls that cascade down her naked back.

"Your skin is different."

His large hands leave her chestnut mane and travel to his lips where he places a quick kiss onto his fingers. Holding the pose for a moment, before they are again on the move, purposely stroking the scars that line her torso and chest.

"Your lips are different."

The fingers that had previously been kissed by his lips are now tracing hers. Her mouth slightly open, her lips swollen and enhanced, the remnants of their early morning activities not having fully disappeared.

His chest expands with caveman like pride that multiplies through him at the thought that it was him that left her like this, that has now caused her breath to hitch slightly as his words encompass every part of her being.

"Your eyes are different."

And finally they are again locked with his in the bathroom mirror. His expression is one of curiosity and amazement.

Holding his gaze she stares back, wide and unblinking as his words continue to wash over her.

Castle's throat clears, attempting to dislodge the lump that has formed at the raw gaze that now continues to hold his.

"Your eyes are clearer."

And a pause settles over the room. He struggles, not for the first time in her presence, to grasp the words to explain precisely what he means; what she means to him.

"Your eyes have changed the most I think, have lost something over the years?"

His voice rises in question as he becomes frustrated at not being able to express the lightness that these eyes now hold. How the darkness seems to be receding into the back ground.

"They're happy."

Her gentle words are followed with a soft chuckle that permeates through the room, echoing in the large space.

"I'm happy."

And in that moment, with those words, she has managed to capture all that he could not. And she is right, of course she is. The happiness rolls off of her, the relaxed nature of her shoulders, the untroubled way her words are now laced with humour, her eyes carefree and observing his own.

"I don't need someone to make me happy."

Her nose scrunches at her apparent displeasure in the words that settle between the two of them.

"But you,"

Her eyes flicker around the room, grasping for the right way to express what is stuck

"I love you, and that makes me happy, makes me,"

Again her frustration fills the room as loud as the sigh that puffs through her lips. She turns her body to face his for the first time since they started this conversation through the mirror.

"You make me more."

As the last syllable escapes her lips, his closes in on her, breathing in her words, the meaning that she has managed to get out. As he takes it in with a brush of his lips over hers, he pulls back ever so slightly to breathe into her.

"You make me more too."

Her lips take over his role and for a moment, a minute they are lost to each other. Nothing but joy shared, until she pulls back and moves to the exit; strutting naked through the door.

Hesitating on the threshold, she looks back over her shoulder and clarifies.

"That's not what I meant though. I was just wondering if you changed the wattage in the lights or something. It seems different in here today."

And with a soft smirk, she leaves him standing stunned in the bathroom as she moves into the room to finish getting ready for the day ahead.

Chuckling as his eyes roam the bathroom, he remarks to himself,

"Yeah it is brighter in here."

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First fic, so thoughts?


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